Congratulations, future graduates! If you are on this page, you must be close to graduating. Please read the following information to help guide you through the graduation process.
Students should run their program evaluation in MMC Connect to check which degree requirements have been completed and which requirements are still outstanding.
Students should discuss their program evaluation with their advisors for additional guidance and recommendations. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all degree requirements are fulfilled and that he/she will have at least 120 credits upon graduation(opens in a new tab). Students who complete or will complete 120 credits do not automatically graduate or receive a diploma.
All candidates for degree are required to file the online graduation application on MMC Connect by the application deadline date. Students who are not completing their degree requirements should not apply for graduation.
Degrees are conferred three times a year: September, February, or June. The deadline dates to submit the graduation application are as follows:
Graduation
Graduation Term
Application Deadline*
Deadline for Outstanding Requirements
Conferral Date
February
Fall
September 15
January 30
February 1
June
Spring
November 15
May 30
June 1
September
Summer
May 15
August 30
September 1
*If the 15th day falls on a weekend, the deadline will extend to the following Monday
Commencement Participation
Students who complete all requirements (including degree recipients from September of the previous calendar year as well as those from February and June of the current year) and who receive clearance by the Registrar by the date posted in the academic calendar will be eligible to participate in that year’s commencement proceedings.
A senior, who has no more than 6 credits remaining in order to complete their degree, may request to participate in the May Commencement. Candidates who request permission to participate in commencement and “walk” must agree to complete the remaining credits in the summer sessions that immediately follow commencement.
To participate in commencement and “walk”, students may register for no more than a combined total of 6 credits during the summer sessions, and must pay for those credits before submitting the Special Request for Permission to Participate in Commencement Ceremony (opens in a new tab)application is submitted, in order to participate. Courses taken outside MMC must be completed by August 15th. Students have until April 1st to file the Special Request for Permission to Participate in Commencement Ceremony application.
Participating (Walking) in the commencement ceremony does not guarantee a student will graduate. In all cases, students who are permitted to participate before completing the requirements/ credits for any degree are required to complete those requirements before his/her degree will be awarded. The College is under obligation to the State Education Department to certify as graduated only those students who have successfully completed all requirements for the degree for which the student was matriculated.
Note: A student who participates in the commencement ceremony before completing their degree forfeits eligibility for honors at the Baccalaureate ceremony. Once the student’s degree is completed, summa, magna, and cum laude honors will be recorded on the student’s diploma and transcript, if they are found to have earned such distinction.
Diplomas
Diplomas are not distributed at Commencement but are normally available within 6 - 8 weeks after graduation. If a student requires proof of graduation prior to receiving their diploma the student may contact the Center for Student Services to request a “Certification of Graduation” letter.
The Registrar’s Office will mail the diploma 6 - 8 weeks after the conferral date, when the degree requirements have been certified by the appropriate department. In addition to the student’s diploma, the degree recipient will receive an unofficial final transcript from MMC. If the student has any outstanding obligations, the diploma and transcript will be withheld until all obligations have been satisfied.
Name on Diploma
MMC issues diplomas under the student’s legal name or the name as it appears on the student’s academic record. Nicknames or variations from the student’s legal name will not be published on the diploma. Students requesting a different name on the diploma will be required to submit an Official Change of Name form. Students must provide proof by attaching a copy of the marriage license, divorce decree, court papers, copy of certificate of naturalization, or similar documents.
In the event a diploma is lost or damaged, the student may request a duplicate diploma by submitting the Re-Issue Diploma form(opens in a new tab). If the diploma was damaged, the student must return the damaged diploma, accompanied by Re-Issue Diploma form. The student should note that a replacement be issued. The student can mail the form along with payment (if applicable) to:
Marymount Manhattan College 221 E. 71 St. New York, NY 10021
Attn: Registrar’s Office
Please Note:
Graduates must clear their financial accounts with the College.
No grade changes may be made to the academic transcript or record, after a degree has been awarded to a student. Requests for student’s name change, address, and/or review of grades will be denied.
Senior Year of Study
Students are advised to consider the following when making decisions about study options outside of MMC in their senior year of study:
Study Abroad /Hunter or Pace Consortium – It is recommended that students do not take study abroad courses or courses taken at Hunter College/Pace University in their final semester. Transcripts from Study Abroad institutions, Hunter College, or Pace University, which often follow a different calendar from ours, may be received after the graduation deadline. Should a transcript not be received on time, the student’s graduation date will be postponed to the next graduation period.
Course waiver and course substitutions must be approved by the appropriate authorities (Division/Dept. Chairs, Dean, and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs) and submitted before the graduation deadline date. Any delay in the submitting these documents may postpone a student’s graduation date.
Students, who are completing their final semester of study should not request a grade of INC for any course in her/his program. Delay in resolving an incomplete grade may postpone graduation to the next graduation period.
Before you Apply for Graduation
You should review your program evaluation in MMC Connect to determine your expected date of graduation.
Under Academic Planning select Program Evaluation.
The Program Evaluation is a tool to assist the student and faculty advisor in monitoring the student’s progress towards a degree. The degree audit is an internal document for advising purposes and is not an official document of your academic record.
If the program listed on your Program Evaluation is not the program you intend to complete, request to have your program changed officially by submitting a Major /Concentration Declaration Petition(opens in a new tab) and/or Minor Declaration Petition(opens in a new tab) form on the student portal under “Advisement Form”.
If you are planning to graduate this year, you need to apply for graduation.
Apply for graduation by selecting “Application for Graduation” under Academic Planning in MMC Connect. Follow the prompts as they appear on the screen and click “Submit”:
Confirm your degree program
Enter your name on the diploma (legal name only-no titles or nicknames)
Select Diploma Delivery Option -Enter the mailing address for your diploma.
Confirm your Anticipated Graduation Term (last term at MMC)
Choose your plan for commencement
Acknowledgment of a graduation fee, which will be posted to your MMC account.
After submitting your Graduation Application, you will receive an email acknowledgment that your application was received. All correspondence and subsequent notices on the status of your application will be sent to your MMC e-mail address.
Planning for Your Degree Completion
You are expected to follow your degree program as outlined in the catalog in effect at the time of the initial program declaration. Once the Office of the Registrar receives your online graduation application, a degree audit will be done in a timely manner. The graduation evaluation is the official graduation degree audit. A degree audit is an analysis of degree requirements for a particular degree, major, minor, and/or concentration. The degree audit matches a student’s academic history and in-progress courses against the requirements for a program. This audit supersedes other offices or staff who assisted in mapping the student’s degree program.
All bachelor’s degrees must meet the basic graduation requirements in their catalog year. In addition to your academic program requirements, there are degree requirements that need to be fulfilled. You should review the degree program pages of your catalog and the degree requirements for graduation. It is strongly recommended that you meet with your faculty or academic advisor to review your Program Evaluation before applying for graduation. There may be outstanding documents that need to be addressed (i.e. course substitutions, AP credit, transfer credit, etc) in order for you to graduate on time. For graduation requirements, click on the Degree Requirements tab above.
You will be notified if you are cleared for degree conferral. Students who have outstanding requirements are considered ineligible for graduation and will be deferred to the next degree conferral date in that academic year. If the requirements have not been completed after a semester, the student will need to re-apply for graduation and may need to file a re-admit application.
In order to complete an undergraduate degree at MMC, students must fulfill the following requirements:
1. Satisfactory completion of a minimum of 120 credits at the 100-level or above
including at least 30 credits at the 300-level or above,
at least 3 credits of which must be at the 400-level.
2. A cumulative grade point average of 2.0 or above in courses taken at MMC based on the grading scale currently published in this catalog.
3. Fulfillment of all the requirements below:
a. General Education requirements;
b. Requirements in a declared major offered by the College;
c. Requirements in a specified minor, if the student has elected such course of study
4. College Residency Requirement: Completion of at least 30 credits in courses taken in attendance at MMC; these may not include independent studies, prior learning experiences, internships, or exchange credits ( e.g., credits taken in exchange programs with other institutions (such as the New York Institute of Finance)
5. Major Residency Requirement: Completion of at least 12 credits in courses in the student’s major discipline taken at MMC (excluding independent studies, prior learning experience, internships and exchange credits). These credits may be used in fulfilling the College Residency Requirement.
6. Liberal Arts Requirement: Marymount Manhattan College defines itself as a college of the liberal arts. Courses in the liberal arts develop students’ judgment and understanding about individuals’ relationship to the social, cultural, and natural qualities of the world in which they live. The New York State Education Department requires a minimum number of liberal arts credits for the following degrees:
Bachelor of Arts degree - completion of 90 liberal arts credits
Bachelor of Science degree - completion of 60 liberal arts credits
Bachelor of Fine Arts degree - completion of 30 liberal arts credits
All students must declare a major (with a possible field of concentration) upon or before the completion of 60 credits. While MMC encourages all students to explore a variety of fields and disciplines during their undergraduate experience, it is appropriate for this exploration to occur within the first 60 credits. Students transferring to MMC with 56 credits or more must file their Declaration of Major upon admission or before completion of 15 credits at MMC. Students must file Major/Concentration Declaration Petition Form located on the student portal.
Limitations and Exclusions
The completion of an undergraduate degree is governed by the following limitations and exclusions:
In fulfilling the 120-credit minimum, a student may elect the Pass/Fail Grade Option for elective courses only. The following limits apply: no more than 1 course per term may be taken as Pass/Fail and no more than an overall total of four courses or 12 credits (whichever is fewer) may be applied to the degree. Students may not elect the Pass/Fail Option for courses that fulfill requirements in their major or in General Education.
In fulfilling the 120-credit minimum, no more than 15 credits earned through independent study and/or internships may be applied to the degree. Independent studies or internships do not fulfill either the 30 credit College Residency Requirement or the 12 credit Major Residency Requirement.
D grades will be credited toward the degree, but not toward the fulfillment of requirements in the major or an elected minor. A student receiving a grade of D or below in a required major or elected minor course must repeat the course. When a student repeats a course, both the D grade and the new grade compute in the cumulative grade point average. The credit for the given course is only counted once toward the degree. In the case of required general education and elective courses, the grade of D is acceptable and does not require repetition. A student may elect to repeat such courses to raise his/her grade point average, but credit is only counted once. In no case may a student take any course more than twice during his/her entire career at MMC.
Students entering the college with insufficient writing or mathematical skills will be required to take certain developmental courses. Students needing to improve their writing skills are placed into CAA 099 (Introduction to Writing) or CAA 097 (Introduction to Writing ESL). If either of these courses is required, it must be taken as part of the student’s first-semester program. Students who are required to complete MATH 007 (Developmental Mathematics) and/or MATH 109 must do so within their first 30 credits at the College. None of these courses, except MATH 109, earns credit toward graduation or the college-level math requirement for all degrees.
Transfer Students
At least 30* credits must be completed at Marymount Manhattan College. These will not include credit for internships, independent study, or prior learning experience. (*Students who started MMC on or after Fall 2019 must complete a minimum of 63 credits at MMC)
All transfer students must complete a minimum of 12 credits in their major at Marymount Manhattan College regardless of the number of transfer credits awarded within the major.
All transfer students must complete the General Education Requirements even if in doing so the total number of credits taken and completed exceeds the 120 credits required for a Marymount Manhattan College degree. Transfer credits may be applied to these requirements.
Transfer students must complete the College Residency Requirement and the Residency Requirement for the Major. The College cannot guarantee that a student who transfers into MMC with the maximum number of transfer credits (90) will be able to complete the degree requirements, including the Residency Requirements within the remaining 30 credits.
Students must complete a minimum of 60 credits at MMC to be eligible for academic honors at commencement.
When can I apply for graduation?
There are 3 graduation dates per year: June, September, and February. The deadline to submit your online graduation application* is as follows:
June graduation – November 15
September graduation – May 15
February graduation – September 15
*If the 15th day of the month falls on the weekend, the deadline will be extended to the following Monday
You and your advisor can use the program evaluation to determine your anticipated date of completion.
The program evaluation(EVAL) ad be found in MMC Connect under the Academic Planning section and can provide a program summary of a student’s total credits earned and gpa, and will list all the degree requirements (both complete and incomplete). Specifically, the program evaluation will list whether or not a student has:
fulfilled the requirements - (Completed)
requirements pending because the student is currently enrolled or pre-registered in the course(s) needed - ( Pending completion of unfinished activity)
requirements partially completed - (In Progress)
the course(s) still need to be taken (e.g.“1 Course Needed”)
not started on taking the requirement(s) - (Not Started)
You should review your program evaluation with your academic advisor. Courses that are “Not Started” or listed as “Course Needed”, are courses that you have still outstanding. You and your advisor can use your program evaluation as an academic planning tool to:
verify that you are in the correct degree program or concentration
monitor your progress towards completing a degree
map out your course choices for registration and future coursework
determine if you need a course substitution
discover that you may have external credits (transfer credit, advanced placement, etc) pending or missing, and that you need to the steps necessary to ensure that the Registrar’s Office obtains these documents
determine your last term at MMC or anticipated date of completion
The program evaluation is an internal document for advising purposes only.
To “walk” means to participate in the Commencement Ceremony. Walking in the Commencement Ceremony does not mean you have been graduated. To “graduate” means you have completed all degree and college requirements to be awarded your degree. You are not technically graduated until you are approved for graduation and the Registrar’s Office has posted your degree.
A student who has a maximum of 6 credits to complete may request permission to walk at the commencement ceremony. If permission is granted and the student elects “to walk” or participate in commencement, the student automatically forfeits any and all MMC honor they may have been eligible for, since the student’s degree requirements will not be completed by the date of the commencement ceremony.
No, diplomas will be mailed out approximately 6 weeks after the end of the semester in which you have completed your degree requirements.
Your diploma will be mailed to the address you provide on your Graduation Application. If you prefer a different address, you must contact the Center for Student Services as soon as possible.
You can request an official transcript that will provide your graduation date and degree earned* or a “Certificate of Graduation” letter.
*Graduate date/degree earned will not be posted on the transcript until the end of June for June graduates.
No, your diploma will only list your degree earned (Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science, Bachelor of Fine Arts)
Students completing requirements to a BA degree and a second major leading to a BFA, or BS degree will have to select which degree they want (BA, BFA, BS) by the time the student fills out the Graduation Application form. Both majors will appear on the student’s academic transcript. The diploma will only list one major as indicated on the Graduation Application form.
Graduation honors are based on cumulative gpa and a minimum of 60 credits earned at MMC. Credits received through prior learning assessment, CLEP, Advanced Placement or similar exams, as well as transfer credits are excluded from MMC credits earned.
If you did not receive honors and your gpa is 3.95, then you did not have the minimum 60 credits earned at MMC.
No. Participating in the commencement ceremony does not constitute official graduation from MMC.
Although you may have “walked” in the procession or your name appeared in the commencement booklet, your degree conferral is based on when you fulfilled all your degree requirements. If you did not pass all your classes, still need to register for a summer class, expect transfer credit, have an incomplete grade, or have other outstanding paperwork, your graduation date will be postponed until all your documents have been received and your requirements satisfied.
Graduation is the official confirmation in the College’s records that all degree requirements have been met and the diploma has been conferred. Commencement is the ceremony that celebrates your graduation. At MMC, commencement is held during the month of May.
If your conferral date states February of the next year, instead of September, that would mean that we did not receive your official transcript or other outstanding documents until after September 1. In order to graduate in September, all requirements must be fulfilled by August 31.